


Sweet scents, sweet sense

by ElectraRhodes



Series: Just one shot.. [13]
Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Bella is both wise and beautiful, Canon cousin, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, Moving into slash, Multi, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-09 16:16:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8898973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectraRhodes/pseuds/ElectraRhodes
Summary: Bella Crawford forgives Hannibal in the most generous of ways. Hannibal practices straightforward honesty. Will is surprisingly happy.





	1. The toss of a coin

'Forgiveness, Hannibal... It's not always easy, but I'm giving it to you.. I'm giving up the hope of a better past.' 'I'm sorry Bella, I changed your meaning'. They were both still for a pause. 'Yes, but I'm going to give you a different future Hannibal, if you'll ..take it'. Hannibal looked at her, his face stilled and impassive, nothing written on it.

'It's about Will. I know you see, ..thank you for not denying it, don't need more .. un-truths and half-truths from you right now.. You should ..tell him' Hannibal's face twitched, just round the edges, but Bella knew where to look. She'd paid a lot of attention over the last few months and she wasn't Jack's wife for nothing 'He's empathic, ..he's not a mind-reader, and he's got ..everyone's feelings swamping him. Hard for him to see through all that, ..hard for him to see just you, ..must be nearly impossible to see himself.. Just tell him.' She raised her hand slightly from the bed covers and pointed to him 'not a complex metaphor, just.. be straight with him'. 

Hannibal looked at her and slowly pulled his cell phone from his jacket's inner pocket. He keyed in Will's number using a tiny icon on the screen as he kept his eyes on Bella's. She could hear it ring once, twice, and then Will, 'Hey, Hannibal' there was a smile in his voice, the kind he got when playing with his dogs, and when he looked at Hannibal and no-one was watching him. Bella had seen that too. Hannibal's face twitched again. 'Will, if you're free I'd like to come and see you?' 'Right now? Sure, bring some cookies or something, I'm starving, everything alright? You're ok aren't you?' 'I'm fine Will, I shall bring some cake. And I shall see you soon'. 

Hannibal ended the call, looking down at the screen now, he held his phone loosely in his hands as they rested in his lap, and smoothed his thumb over the icon of Will's face on his phone. 'Sometimes, if you're very very lucky ..you get a shot at love Hannibal. The real ..thing. Don't waste it..' Hannibal looked at her again 'He gives my life meaning' he said simply. Bella nodded and closed her eyes. Breathed.

Hannibal got up and left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lovely Bella.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is an AU (which may or may not be the Dr Plushy Pants AU) where Hannibal used his amazing olfactory abilities to bind Will to him by telling him about the encephalitis, rather than Will going crazy and ending up in the BSHCI. So, no Matthew, and no dead Beverly, but Abigail is missing for different reasons. Hannibal is still a little shit though. Just in a different kind of way. But maybe Will reforms him? Dunno yet. Might grow or have other stories emerge for this AU, especially if it's the Dr Plushy Pants, but as I'm working on about 8 different stories, doing three jobs, and two degrees, maybe not.

'Hey, hey, hey, excellent, you sounded worried on the phone. Are you alright? And did you bring cake? I have coffee if you have cake!' Will was almost breathless with cheer. He'd had a good morning, the antivirals were working, the dogs were happy, he hadn't been pulled into a case for several weeks, and he actually felt well. Hannibal coming to visit was a cherry on top.

As he stood on the porch his dogs milled around waiting for Hannibal to reach them, they knew him well, he was Mr Sausage, but they waited, they did what Mr Boss told them.

Hannibal held out some dog treats in his hand and after a look that checked with Will he gave each of the boys some sausage. They rolled over and Hannibal went so far as to rub the chests of two of them. 

Buster panted up at Hannibal with a look of devotion on his face. Hannibal asked 'he's always this way, such simple adoration? why does he like me?' Will laughed at this. 'You don't even like dogs, you're always so kind to them. Of course he adores you, if you regularly brought me sausage and rubbed my chest I'd adore you!'

'Would you?'

'Hannibal?' 

'Would you adore me if I brought you sausage and rubbed your chest?'

'You do bring me sausage, I don't think you've got as far as rubbing my chest though, I think you've laid your hand on my shoulder a few times. You could rub my chest, well, maybe not just my chest, and maybe not so vigorously' 

Will grinned at Hannibal.

'But would you adore me?'

Will heard the question within the question. Really, Hannibal was being amazingly straight with him. It was usually all Achilles and battle tested friendships and complex metaphor or simile. And lots of buttoned up skirting each other round the room of Hannibal's office. And some full on eye fucking now he thought about it. And that ladder. He gave a little shiver. He stopped grinning like a loon. 

'I'm already pretty close to that' he said seriously.

The two men stood facing each other on the porch, neither of them speaking. Will stepped into Hannibal's space and tentatively reached for his face, stroking it gently. 'It wouldn't take much'.

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes honesty is the best policy.


End file.
